Gustav schultz



(No Model.) G. SCHULTZ SHOE.

No. 449,500. Patented Mar. 31, 1891.

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ma mam: PETERS cm, more-mum, wfinmc UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAV SCHULTZ, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y.

SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 449,500, dated March31, 1891.

Application filed December 4, 1890, Serial No. 373,555 (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GUSTAV SCHULTZ, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and Improved Shoe, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved shoe,specially designed for use for weak-ankled feet, to permit the wearer toproperly sustain the weight of the body, so as to render walking easyand painless.

The invention consists in the particular construction and arrangement ofparts, as hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claim. I

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part ofthis specification, in which similarletters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improvement with parts broken out.spective view of the sole and stiff plate; and Fig. 3 is a full-sizedplan view of the sole, showing in dotted lines the shape of the sole fora normal foot and also showing by dash and dot the extension on theinside of a weak ankle.

In weak ankles, as found in persons having naturally-deformed feet orcaused by spraining the foot, the instep is sunken or caved in, so as toproject inwardly, as indicated by dots and dashes in Fig. Thisoutwardly-pro jecting portion of the foot, if pressed into an ordinaryshoe, soon begins to swell from the ankle upward, owing to the pressureon the afliieted part caused by the weight of the wearer, the center ofgravity being outside the shoe-sole.

In my improved shoe the sole A is shaped essentially different from thesoles for natural feet, the principal point being that the inner edge 13is extended outward, while the outward edge extends farther inward, ascan be plainly seen by comparison of the soleA with the normal solerepresented in dotted lines in Fig. 3. On the inner edge of the sole A,from about the heel part to the ball portion, is

Fig. 2 is a per-- erected a stiff plate or wall E, which preferablyforms an extension of the heelstiffener F, forming part of the normalshoe and fastened in the heel part of the upper I. In order toconveniently fasten the heel-stiffening I and its extension E to thesole A, the lower part G of the said stiffener and its extension is bentinward onto a corresponding part-II on the top of the sole A and sewedthereon with the upper iii the usual manner. The plate or wall E iscurved downward from the heel toward the front, and is of sufficient,height to press onto that portion of the deformed foot which extendsover onto the inward edge of the sole A. The wall E; thus tends to pressthe extended portion of the foot inward and downward, so that the weightof the person is retained within the sole A, thereby permitting theparty to walk easily, at the same time preventing any swelling of thefoot.

As will be seen in Fig. 1, the upper lat the instep is curved inwardlyin an opposite direction from the normal upper, as the instep of awealeankled foot is the part which is sunken or caved in, as previouslymentioned. The stiff plate or wall E permits the inwardly-extending partof the deformed foot to have a free circulation of blood, so thatswelling is not liable to take place. By a shoe constructed in thismanner the party having weak-ankled feet in using the shoe can read ilywalk about without pain orswellingofthc feet.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- A shoe having its sole extending outward atits inner edge beyond the line of a normal sole and provided with aheel-stiffener, the inside of which is extended forward to the ballportion and terminates thereat,substantially as described.

GUSTAV SCHULTZ.

Witnesses:

THEo. G. IIOSTER,

C. SnoewlcK.

